After cleaning up my new Universal III I was still having trouble getting the grippers to open at the end of the bed. After hunting around this blog, I discovered a post that indicates that the knurl pin is the problem. You had posted a very helpful diagram! (below) Anyway, the top is broken off – basically flush, which is why I didn’t see it before. I can’t imagine how this could have happened. Part B seems to be stuck in a pushed-in position. Any thoughts how I can get the knurl pin out? I’m hoping Fritz will have a replacement.
Are you not able to remove the cam to shim behind it? Is it worn? Are you running very thick paper? The solution may be to apply metal-faced adhesive tape to the outer edge of the cam. Ensure that the cam follower (bearing) on the bottom of the gripper lever aligns with the opener cam. The gripper lever may still need to be adjusted.
Success with that part of the problem. I’m an idiot – the problem actually WAS a stuck gripper pin. A bit of moisture – probably from my hands when reassembling – rusted one of them within the past week or so. They now are working smoothly again.
But I‘m back to the original problem of the grippers not opening at the end of the bed. The trip lever is pushing in at the end of the bed, so I’m assuming that the cam is pushing on the pins. I can’t see it happening because the pins are under the cylinder at that point (I do wish I had a repositionable opener cam). But I have to yank the paper out before the return. Any idea what might be going on?
I have the knurl pin completely removed and am waiting on a replacement. But I don’t think that would cause this problem, would it??
Thanks again for your help and for this website. I’ve solved many problems just by reading other posts. Incredibly helpful!
Because of the high serial number, this press should have the later gripper bar design found on the SP series. So, before you adjust the pivot screw, confirm that the camshaft (horizon rod below the gripper pins) is inserted into the hole on the cylinder casting end on the operator’s side and that the spring is in place.
Examine the spring (X-7522) on the verticle rod. The top shaft collar may be loose and not in contact with the spring.
The post regarding the gripper lever is applicable to older models such as the No. 3 and 4. See the attached image showing that the Universal gripper level is slightly at an angle to the sideplate.
Thanks Paul – that worked perfectly and I have the pin removed!
Sadly, the grippers are still not opening. I already cleaned and lubed the pins thoroughly. It appears that the cams are not pushing against the pins enough to raise them. Working down the linkage – I see that the trip lever is not pushing enough. In another post I saw that the trip lever must be parallel to the side of the carriage. It is definitely not. I can only assume that the press took some damage in that area during the move (cringe), which would explain the damaged knurl pin too.
The trip lever isn’t bent, so I’m thinking it just got tweaked out of alignment. Can I re-align it to be parallel again? I see the pivot screw – would loosening and adjusting it from there work? I don’t want to mess with it without your advice. Thank you!
When B is compressed against the block, knurled pin A can be pushed down to lock B. Grippers will then only open when the pedal is pushed down.
To extract the sheared pin, remove the two shoulder screws on the side of the block. Swing the block to the left B, then tap the pin through the bottom of the block. Hold B in so that when after the pin is removed it won’t shoot across the room.